PEARL, Miss. – The Millsaps baseball team was edged in the late stages by Belhaven, 4-3 in Game One of the Cowboy Maloney Series, held at Trustmark Park on Tuesday.
Senior
Sam Pitre batted 3-3 with three RBIs and posted a walk, while junior
Jackson Ware went 3-4 with a run scored.
Freshman starting pitcher
Stewart Bonnecaze struck out three batters and allowed zero runs despite four walks in 2.0 innings pitched. Sophomore
Nick Tarantino struck out four Blazers against two walks, three hits and one run in 3.0 innings. Senior
Wil Wood pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out three and yielding one hit.
The Majors looked locked in early as graduate
Chris Hart opened the game with a double to left field. Moments later, Pitre would plate Hart with a single up the middle for an early 1-0 lead.
Belhaven would threaten in the bottom of the first after starting their attack with two walks. Both Blazers would reach scoring position with one out. However, Bonnecaze stepped up large with back-to-back strikeouts looking.
Millsaps would add to its edge with another run in the third inning. Ware would commence the third with a single down the right-field line. He'd reach second on a
Zac Farris hit by pitch and
Bradley Pelle fielder's choice. Pitre would enter the box and single home Ware for a 2-0 advantage.
A double and RBI single with two outs would put the Blazers on the board in the bottom of the third inning.
With one out, Pelle would provide an electric hit that would roll all the way to wall in the spacious minor league ballpark. The sophomore would evade a tag on a relay attempt and reach safely with a sliding triple. Pitre would do the rest by plating his teammate with his third RBI single, giving Millsaps a 3-1 cushion.
The game would remain scoreless until Belhaven posted a run in the bottom of the sixth with a walk, steal, wild pitch and RBI single.
Belhaven then took the lead with two runs in the seventh. A walk, single and throwing error would put a pair of Blazers in scoring position with no outs. A sacrifice fly tied the game and advanced the runner from second to third base, drawing Wood from the bullpen.
Wood struck out the first batter he faced, but a passed ball gave Belhaven a 4-3 lead. The Majors looked to tie the contest in the top of the eighth when senior
Branyan Bounds tallied a pinch hit double with one out. He would advance to third on a fly out, but was unable to score off an ensuing strikeout. Belhaven closed out the ninth in order to end the game.
The Majors will next host the Millsaps Baseball Classic, Friday through Tuesday with Alma College, Edgewood College and Westminster College. Millsaps will first play Westminster at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Live video and live stats will be available at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps baseball program follow the Majors on Twitter and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
